


Rescuing Me

by bex_xo



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But here it is, F/M, Jon is divorced, Some Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, bitter Jon, college student Sansa, mentions of Ygritte, this took me forever to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-22 16:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4842749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bex_xo/pseuds/bex_xo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Looking at the time on his watch makes him want to groan out loud, it's been 40 minutes already and he's just finished his second bottle of beer. It's abundantly clear at this point his date, Holly, was a no show, not only to him but to every single person sitting around him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rescuing Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jillypups](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jillypups/gifts).



> Forever ago jillypups tagged me in a prompt on tumblr that she wanted me to write for Jon x Sansa, and being the wonderful friend she is, she was VERY patient in waiting for this. 
> 
> Basically the prompt was one member of an OTP being stood up and the other member showing up, pretending they are the first persons date, and it turning out to be the best date ever. 
> 
> This is my take on that.

[Picset by Jillypups](http://jillypups.tumblr.com/post/129550106013/rescuing-me-by-bex-morealli-a-lovely-little-one)  
  
  
  
Stood up.  
  
He was being stood up.  
  
By a blind date no less. Something he would not normally agree to, but had let Gilly talk him into nonetheless.  
  
He had been “out of the game” for too long, spending the last year of his life dedicated to finishing his masters degree and focusing solely on class work. Between his own school work, and the history professor he was a TA for, dating hadn't really crossed his mind all that much in recent months. He was far too jaded recently to put himself out there anyway.  
  
Instead he opted for tagging along with Sam and Gilly, his former roommate and his now wife. Jon was more comfortable as the third wheel than trying to make awkward conversation with some random bar girl, drunk and bottle blonde, fake tan, and too white teeth.  
  
Ygritte had ruined him.  
  
At least that is what he told himself anytime his friends brought up the idea of him getting back out there dating.  
  
He felt a little bit of guilt throwing all the blame on his now ex-wife, because he was well aware it took two people to make a marriage work. In his heart though, he knew he had tried, had put every ounce of effort into making things work out between them, but it wasn't enough, because Yrgitte didn't see anything wrong with their marriage.  
  
_Fights are normal Jon._ That's what she would tell him after every blow out argument they would have. Instead of talking things out, Ygritte would simply attempt to ignore the problem until it would go away, and Jon would stew and hold things in until they all came out of him in an explos Hiive fit of anger that was normally so unlike him.  
  
Married at age 23 and divorced three months before turning 25, not exactly what he had expected when he popped the question.  
  
Now here he was, freshly 26 years old and divorced for over a year, sitting at a booth in a little mom and pop restaurant, being stood up by the first date he's had since he was 20 years old.  
  
Looking at the time on his watch makes him want to groan out loud, it's been 40 minutes already and he's just finished his second bottle of beer. It's abundantly clear at this point his date, Holly, was a no show, not only to him but to every single person sitting around him.  
  
If there was one thing that drove him crazy, it was any one giving him pity glances. He had enough of that from his lawyers, Ygritte's lawyers, and the judge, and well, basically every single person who he had come in contact with over the last nearly two years of his life. Even Sam and Gilly occasionally looked at him with this complete look of sympathy, which was half the reason why he agreed to go on this date anyway.  
  
He sighs in resignation and is ready to call his waitress over for the bill when he sees a red head waving at him in recognition, hurrying her way over to his table.  
  
For a split second she looks so much like Ygritte it causes him to pause in disbelief. Then he notices the little things about this beauty making her way towards him, and he knows it's not his ex wife at all.  
  
With eyes too blue, hair too red, and perfect, white straight teeth, this woman is similar yet entirely different. Jon had spent years studying everything about Ygritte Wilde, and this woman was not her by a long shot. _Not that that's a bad thing._  
  
There is something vaguely familiar about this woman though, and it annoys him to no end that he can't figure out why.  
  
“I'm so sorry I'm running late baby!” The mystery woman says, leaning into Jon to kiss his cheek. At least that's what it would have looked like to the crowded room of dinner time patrons. Instead she leans in close, using the waterfall of her dark red locks to disguise the fact that she's leaning into his ear and whispering. “I'm Sansa, and I'm here to rescue you.”  
  
The waitress hurriedly takes their drink orders while delivering her obviously memorized monologue about today's dinner specials before telling them she'll give them a moment to look at the menus. Jon has hardly been paying attention to the waitress, instead he's busy watching this Sansa woman while she has her full attention on the waitress, laughing and smiling, truly engaged with this middle aged woman in front of them.  
  
“So, Sansa is it?” He asks when the waitress finally leaves to put in their drink orders.  
  
“Yes. Sansa Stark. A pleasure to meet you, Jon.” She says with secret smile.  
  
Now he's more confused than ever.  
  
“Are you friends with Holly? Did she send you here to meet me in her place?”  
  
“Nope. I don't know this Holly you speak of. Oh my gosh. She's not your girlfriend is she? I knew this was a bad idea.” A crease appears between her eyebrows and she's rubbing her temples with anxious fingers.  
  
In the approximately 7 minutes since she sat down at his table, Jon has picked up on a few things about Sansa. First of all, she speaks very animatedly, big and wide gestures, a lot of use of her hands. Secondly, this girl spoke very fast and Jon wasn't quite sure if she was speaking more to herself than him.  
  
“How did you know my name then? Or that I was waiting for someone?” Jon was a little exasperated at this point. He would never call himself bitter, jaded sure, but this bubbly girl was almost too much for him.  
  
“Well I knew you were waiting for someone because when I walked by here earlier, I could see you sitting at this exact booth drinking your beer. I was in a bookstore down the road for about 20 minutes or so, and when I walked back past here, there you were, still sitting in this booth, still nursing your beer and still alone.” Sansa pushes her long hair back over one shoulder, as if to get it out of the way of the wildly animated hands. She grins when she catches him staring for a second too long, and Jon clears his throat before motioning for her to continue.  
  
“So I took my books back to my car and told myself “Now Sansa, if you walk past that diner again and poor Jon Snow is sitting there all alone, go in there and rescue the fella.” And lo and behold, here you are.” Sansa settles back into her seat after giving Jon the apparent low down on their current situation. He can't help but notice she left out one very important fact.  
  
“That doesn't explain how you know my name Sansa.” He says, arms resting on the table where he leans on them.  
  
The younger woman had the decency to blush while sitting back up in her seat, before mimicking his position and leaning in close enough to whisper.  
  
“Did you even catch my last name? Think about it, it'll come to you.”  
  
Jon did happen to catch her last name. Stark was one you heard around these parts quite often, always attached to some charity or scholarship. Eddard Stark was big deal politician, and this girl was likely one of his daughters.  
  
That wasn't what was sticking out to him though, because the more he thought on it, the more it all started coming back to him.  
  
“You took Dr. Mormont's class three years ago. His History of the 18 th Century course. I was the TA for that class. I remember you, your papers were always well put together.”  
  
“No, you don't really remember me.” She laughs as she says it. Jon can't help but glance appreciatively at the long, pale line her neck makes as she throws her head back, and he wonders what her skin would feel like under his lips. _Wait, where did that come from?_  
  
“You might remember my name, what class I took, and my exceptional paper writing skills, but you probably don't remember one class discussion I took part of. You definitely don't remember all the times I showed up to your office hours hounding you about some term paper or another. If you did, there's no way you'd still be sitting at this table.”  
  
Thinking on it for a moment, Jon does realize he vaguely remembers a very frantic, auburn haired girl talking with wild hand gestures that reminds him of Sansa. There's no way the young woman in front of him is the same girl that half stalked his office hours three years ago, as similar looking as she may be.  
  
“It's all coming back to you isn't it?” She asks with a smile. There's a kindness in her eyes that Jon didn't realize he had been missing these last few years, but now that he see's it he wonders how long its been since someone has looked at him that way.  
  
“I remember a red head, but she was a little... well... how do I put this? Unhinged?” As he says it he knows it's her he remembers, just from the way her eyes grow wide and the defensive look that flashes across her face.  
  
“I'll have you know, I was freshmen, and I was slightly paranoid about my grades. I'm surprised you remember that all, since you were in the bubble and all.”  
  
Jon raises an eyebrow, giving Sansa a questioning look. _The bubble? What in the world did that mean?_ Sansa just laughs at him again, shaking her head, and there's that pretty blush showing up in her cheeks again.  
  
“The post wedding bubble. Sometimes your wife would bring you coffee before class and you would completely zone out the entire time. I thought it was super sweet, you know, at first.” Sansa trailed off towards the end of her sentence, and Jon thinks at least she had the courtesy to not look him in the eyes while she said it.  
  
“At first?”  
  
“Until things started to change. I was on my way to your office hours one day towards the end of the semester, and I kinda walked in on you two having a complete blow out in front of the history department building. I felt bad for you.” With slow and careful movements, Sansa sneaks her hand across the table top to where Jon's is sitting, placing it lightly on top of his.  
  
It's an innocent gesture, he supposes it is meant to be comforting, but as soon as Sansa's fingers skim over the top of Jon's hand he feels an instant heat and a pounding in his chest.  
  
Of course this is when the waitress decides to come back and take their orders, and the moment Jon thinks they are sharing is broken.  
  
Sansa instantly throws her charm right back into over drive, asking the waitress about the specials again, for her opinions on the menu, and enthusiastically carrying on a conversation. It's a quality Jon finds he admires, he's always been much more introverted and quite, something Ygritte would complain about often whenever they went out.  
  
_“Why won't you speak up Jon? Shy is only cute for so long.”_ She had told him once while out to dinner with Sam and Gilly, leaving Jon embarrassed and causing a huge argument once they got back to their apartment that night.  
  
“Jon? Are you in there? Hello?” Looking up from his menu, he blinks twice when he sees Sansa waving her hand in front of his face. Smiling apologetically to the waitress, he orders the first thing that sounds good from the menu in front of him.  
  
“Sorry. I zoned out for a second. What were you saying?” He says apologetically.  
  
Sansa smiles brightly at him, and he can't help but grin back.  
  
“I was saying that I felt bad for you, seeing you fight with your wife like that.”  
  
“Yeah, well I felt bad for myself.”  
  
Sansa reaches back across the table, this time grabbing Jon's hand with determination, linking her fingers with his. Jon relishes the silky feeling of Sansa's hand in his, the way her thumb is rubbing smooth little circles across his knuckles.  
  
“No one deserves to be treated that way Jon.”  
  
It's sympathetic almost, the way she says it, but he knows that's not how she means it. At least he hopes that's not how she means it.  
  
Looking down at their still intertwined hands, he realizes this is the most physical touch he's experienced in well over a year. Longer even.  
  
“So what did you hear? I was the talk of the whole damn campus for months, and not all of it was true. No one had an affair, no domestic violence, nothing all that exciting honestly.”  
  
“The rumor mill in the university _is_ bit ridiculous. The common theme was that _you_ were the one that left her though, moving in with a friend and filing the papers.”  
  
Jon nodded his head in conformation. That had been basically what happened, he was the one that called it quits, throwing in the towel on his marriage 7 months after saying “I do”. Sam had been nice enough let Jon crash on the sofa bed in his spare room in the immediate aftermath, helping him find a lawyer and getting all his paperwork in order.

 

He was eternally indebted to Sam, which was half the reason why he had agreed to going on a blind date.   
  
“I did hear you had a blow dryer chucked at your head while you were packing though. And something about it being your blow dryer, but that was probably just another ridiculous rumor.” Sansa says with a dismissive laugh.  
  
“Actually. That part is also true.” He mutters, using his free hand to scratch his beard in a nonchalant manner, trying to play it off in a casual manner.  
  
The girl across from him bursts into a helpless fit of giggles, pulling her hand away from his to cover her mouth, gasping for air in between the laughs that keep spilling from her lips. Try as he might, Jon cannot keep himself from joining in along with her, the laughter bubbling deep in his stomach before escaping in a loud raucous laughter.  
  
It feels good to laugh, to really laugh, after the last couple years he's had. It's made even better knowing the fact that it's a gorgeous girl causing this sudden outburst, and that is something he hopes will continue in the future.  
  
Sansa's giggles start to die down along with his own, both of them wiping tears from their faces while a comfortable silence settles around them.  
  
“I am so sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at that. It was just the thought of you using a hair dryer that got to me. I got this image of you in my head, in nothing but a towel, blow drying your hair.”  
  
It took her a moment to realize what she had just said, but when she did her hands flew up, covering her rapidly reddening face in embarrassment.  
  
“Oh god. That's not at all what I meant. It's not that the idea of you in a towel was funny, or that I was purposely imagining you in a towel. Well actually, I was imagining you in a towel, but only because I was picturing you blow drying your hair. You probably look quite good in a towel honestly. Oh my god, I need to shut up now.”  
  
Thankfully for Sansa's sake, the waitress showed back up with their meals. Sansa quickly dug into the meal in front of her, her face flaming red. It was enduring, really, how embarrassed Sansa was,  
how she rambled when she got nervous, how pretty she was when she was blushing, especially when it was the thought of him in a towel that was making her act this way.  
  
“So. Um. Are you in the class I'm the TA for this semester?” Jon asks, trying to break up the semi-awkward silence they had lapsed into.  
  
“No actually. I'm finishing my undergrad this year, so I'm preparing for my student teaching next semester. I actually wasn't even supposed to be in Dr. Mormont's class that semester you were my TA, I had signed up to take the same course taught by Professor Baelish, but he hit on me at orientation and it was really creepy.” Sansa shudders in disgust, nose wrinkled for the added effect of being grossed out. “I was only 18, and he was so old, it was just gross. I transferred into Dr. Mormont's class instead.”  
  
“I took a class with Baelish once, he's definitely a creep. Good call on that one.”  
  
The smiles between them came easily, and as they were eating so did the conversation. Jon was finding himself thankful that Gilly's friend had flaked out on him the longer he sat at the table with Sansa.  
  
It was easy, easier than it had ever been with Ygritte, even before their marriage, even before their engagement, probably easier than the majority of his relationship with her, and that was a hard thing for him to admit to himself.  
  
This girl was getting under his skin, in a good way, and it had only been 30 minutes.  
  
“Do you regret it?” Sansa asks him finally.  
  
There it is, the question he knows has been on the tip of Sansa's tongue all night.  
  
He's been asked this before, and before today he's never had a real answer to it.  
  
“I don't regret getting married. I was 23, I was young and I loved her. She loved me too, for a time. The people we were when we got married weren't the people we were when we started dating. That was the girl I fell in love with, that was the girl I wanted to marry, and that girl was long gone by the time we said “I do”. That's the reason I don't regret getting a divorce either.”  
  
It was an honest answer, maybe not exactly the answer Sansa wanted to hear, but Jon knew it was the answer she needed from him. He didn't want to give her the impression that he realized he didn't love his ex-wife, that he had made a mistake in getting married so young, because that wasn't the scenario at all.  
  
Once he had expected Ygritte to be his happily ever after, but the last two years had left him jaded and cynical, and now here was Sansa Stark sitting in front of him, trying to prove him all wrong. He didn't even know he needed rescued until Sansa had told him that's what she was doing.  
  
“I understand that Jon. It may not have ended well, but it wasn't always bad. Things change, people change. You wouldn't be right here, right now, living in this moment if it hadn't been for all those things anyway.”  
  
Jon looks up from where he's been studying his hands intently, and there is a glimmer of a grin on her face, a mischievous glint in those blue eyes, and her eyebrows raised in almost a challenge.  
  
“I wouldn't be sitting here with you if I was still married.” He says with a wink, a smile spreading slow like honey when that pretty crimson blush creeps up her neck again.  
  
“You are correct Jon Snow. I would never of had to rescue your lonely self from this failed blind date if you had never gotten a divorce. Lucky for me, this Holly girl is missing out.” Her face is still as red as her hair, but the way she's smiling, and the way she grabs Jon hand again has him feeling like a 20-something with nothing to loose, no ex-wife, no jaded out look on life, and he thinks he could get used to this.  
  
“Do you want to go do something with me, after dinner that is? Maybe take a walk, talk some more?” He takes the leap, following his instincts that are telling him if he doesn't ask this girl out, he could very well be loosing out on something special.  
  
_A happily ever after._    
  
“Aren't you supposed to wait for two days or something before you ask a girl out again?” Sansa says, playing coy but still calling the waitress over and asking for the bill despite that.  
  
Jon places his hand on top of Sansa's, deftly pulling the bill out from under her grasp before reaching into the back pocket where he keeps his wallet, grabbing his debit card before handing it to the waitress with quite thank you. Artfully he flips Sansa's hand over, locking their fingers together before bringing them up to his mouth where he brushes a gentle kiss on her knuckles.  
  
“I think it only counts if I had asked you out on a first date Sansa.”  
  
“Well what's this if not a date Jon?” She asks looking up at him from under her eyelashes, voice small and questioning, but 100 percent sincere.  
  
“This is you rescuing me from myself.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
